


Opportunity

by seibelsays



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, NASA, Opportunity Rover, Robots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-27 20:30:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17773733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seibelsays/pseuds/seibelsays
Summary: Bucky finds out about Opportunity Rover.





	Opportunity

**Author's Note:**

> I'm having feelings about NASA finally ending Opportunity's mission, okay? I've also named my robot vacuum and talk to my cats' treat bot, so me taking an hour to write this should really surprise no one.

Darcy swiped at her eyes as she waited for the coffee to finish brewing. This was absurd. It was a _robot_. A _robot_ she had never even _met_. It’s not like it was DUM-E or anything. She sniffled and wiped her nose with her sleeve. One of these days Tony was going to get frustrated enough to launch DUM-E into space and then she’d really be regretting this line of thought.

“Darcy?”

Darcy jumped and spun around. Perfect. Just perfect. 

“Hey Bucky,” she replied weakly, cursing how watery her voice sounded.

“What’s wrong?” he replied immediately.

She huffed out a sigh. “Nothing. Ignore me. It’s stupid.”

“Nothing that makes you cry is stupid.”

He would be a sweetheart about it, wouldn’t he. Figures.

Actually.

She sniffled again. “Want to come down to the lab? Keep me and Jane company while they...they made the call?”

Bucky’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Sure, Darce. Anything you need.”

She grabbed another travel mug and filled it, adding a splash of cream the way Bucky liked, then handing it over and preparing mugs for her and Jane. He took it from her without a word and followed her silently down to the lab.

Jane was sitting in front of her computer, chewing on her thumbnail and crushing a tissue in her hand. When she glanced at the new arrivals to the lab, her eyes were red-rimmed. 

“It’s not looking good,” she said quietly.

“Girls...what the hell is goin’ on? Do I need to get Steve? Pull the team together?”

Darcy looped her arm through Bucky’s and led him to the couch on the side of the lab. “What do you know about the Opportunity Rover?”

Bucky blinked at her, expression blank. “Um...assume I don’t know as much as I should.”

Jane tutted at him. “You call yourself a nerd.”

“I’ve had a lot to catch up on!”

Darcy tugged at his arm to bring his attention back to her. “Opportunity is a robot that we sent to Mars. It landed in 2004 and was expected to last 90 days.”

“Okay…” Bucky said slowly.

“It’s been transmitting findings back to Earth ever since.”

“Darce, that’s...fifteen years.”

“I know.”

“Holy cow,” Bucky breathed, the ghost of a smile forming.

“ _I know_. It’s sent back over 200,000 photos of Mars’ surface and discovered what looks to be proof that there used to be water on Mars! It’s set all kinds of records for distance and longevity...Opportunity is a pretty amazing little robot dude.” Darcy felt the smile slip off her face and tears begin to pool in her eyes again.

Bucky’s fingers twitched. “But?”

“There was a dust storm back in June. And Opportunity sent a message. ‘My battery is low and it’s getting dark.’” Darcy sniffled. “That’s the last anyone ever heard from the little guy.”

“They’re starting!” Jane called.

Darcy and Bucky moved from the couch over to Jane and stood behind her so they could see her screen. Darcy snagged a tissue from the box on Jane’s desk and dabbed at her eyes, while Bucky put a tentative hand on her shoulder. She gave him a small smile before returning her attention to the screen.

The NASA spokesperson on the screen gave a quick rundown of the situation. The words felt cold and dispassionate, but Darcy thought she could see a hint of distress in the spokesperson’s eyes.

She understood the thinking. The program cost $500,000 a month to run and had already lasted _years_ longer than anyone had ever expected it to. Oppy had taught them so much. It was okay to let go. But then her brain helpfully supplied her the mental image of the little dude cold and alone, slowly buried in the Martian dust as its batteries died and the tears started all over again.

She mentally smacked herself. Humans really _will_ pack-bond with anything. 

NASA had tried one last round of recovery commands. They’d played one last “wake up” song (“I’ll Be Seeing You” by Billie Holiday - fuck you very much NASA. Darcy wasn’t using her heart at all.) But there was nothing. Opportunity was gone.

_“Rest well, Rover. Your mission is complete.”_

Jane sobbed and Darcy joined her, snagging more tissues from the box and handing them over before wiping her own eyes. Bucky rubbed a soothing circle on Darcy’s back. 

“‘M sorry, Darce,” he murmured.

Darcy nodded and rested her head on his shoulder. 

“No work is getting done today,” Jane muttered before blowing her nose. “I can’t take it.”

“Pie Face?” Darcy asked.

“God yes.”

“Want to come, Buck?” Darcy asked.

He hesitated, then shook his head. “Raincheck? There’s something I gotta do.”

“Sure.”

***

Bucky left Jane and Darcy’s lab and took the elevator up a few floors to Tony’s lab, where he found Tony peering into U’s side. 

“Why the hell haven’t you gone to get Opportunity?”

Tony turned slowly to look at him, a bemused expression on his face. “Well hello to you too, Robocop.” His voice dipped a little, growing a little somber. “NASA finally call it?”

“A few minutes ago.”

Tony sighed and tossed the tool he had been using onto the tray next to him and closed the panel in U’s side. The robot moved, recalibrating probably, but it looked like it was nodding in thanks. 

“Do I look like I’ve got a rocket stashed somewhere around here?”

Bucky glared at him. 

“Okay fair. Look, I love robots as much as the next guy,” Tony raised his hands to gesture around the lab at U and DUM-E, “but the program was old. Out of date. No way to update the hardware. No Mark 2 for those guys, right? Opportunity lasted much longer than it ever should have. We should celebrate the achievements.” He paused and gave Bucky a hard look. “Every mission ends, you know.”

“Yeah,” Bucky said with a sigh. “Yeah, I know.”

***

Bucky tapped out a number on his phone and waited for it to connect. 

_“Bucky! How are you?”_

“I’m well, Princess Shuri. How are you?”

_“I am surprised to hear from you. What has you reaching out today?”_

Bucky grinned a little. “I’m wondering if you can do me a favor.”

***

“Holy shitballs, are the nerds going crazy,” Darcy muttered as she scrolled through her Twitter feed. 

“Understandably so, given that Opportunity just sort of...woke up,” Jane replied.

“Well, yes, and praise be to Carl Sagan for it. I just wish I knew _how_.”

“You and everyone else on the planet.”

“This planet and it’s neighbor,” Darcy muttered.

“Morning ladies,” Bucky said, strolling into the kitchen with a bit of a spring in his step.

“Buckster. You’re looking chipper this morning,” Darcy said.

He grinned at her. “It’s a good morning,” he shrugged. “You hear about Oppy?”

Bucky’s casual use of the rover’s nickname rang a few alarm bells in Darcy’s mind and she looked at him suspiciously. “Yes,” she replied slowly.

He poured himself a mug of coffee and held out the carafe. “Warm up?”

“Sure.”

He refilled her mug and then offered to Jane who shook her head, hiding her grin and turning to sneak out of the kitchen back to the lab before Darcy noticed.

“Bucky,” Darcy said slowly. “What did you do?”

“Me? Nothing.” His voice was too innocent.

“Bucky.”

“I made a phone call.”

Uh. What. “To who?”

“That’s classified.”

“To do what?”

“That’s also classified. Mostly because I don’t actually know.”

Darcy threw up her hands in confusion. “Why?”

The grin faded from Bucky’s face. “Because what happened to Oppy made you cry,” he said sincerely.

Darcy blinked. 

Did that actually just happen? 

“But do I use this power for good or evil?” she muttered and Bucky laughed. “It’s a serious question. Clearly, you’ve got some talents I was previously unaware of.” She waggled her eyebrows at him. “Think you can make another phone call and fix Pluto?”

Bucky froze. “What the hell happened to Pluto?”

“Oh Bucky Bear. Baby.” Darcy looped her arm through his and lead him out of the kitchen. “Come hang in the lab more often. We’ll get you caught up on everything you need to know.” She paused in the doorway, hesitating slightly.

“Darce?”

She leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks Bucky.”

“Anytime.”


End file.
